Every 10 seconds someone dies of smoking-related illness.
Bar workers working eight hours inhale as many cancer-causing chemicals as if they smoked 8 cigarettes.
Characters in movies smoke over 50% more actual smoking rates in society.
Only 25% of people diagnosed with lung cancer live more than five years.
Baseball legend Babe Ruth smoked cigars and chewed tobacco, he died at the age of 53 from throat cancer.
The average two-pack-a-day smoker inhales over 1 liter of brown gooey tar each year into their lungs.
Every cigarette you smoke takes away 7 minutes from your life.
On average, non-smokers live 15 years longer than smokers.
Last year, worldwide, over 5 million people died as a result of tobacco.
Just a few things second hand smoke can cause are lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, and middle ear infections.
The vast majority of tobacco users and smokers are hooked when they under the age of 18.
Smokers pay twice as much for life insurance.
If instead of smoking 2 packs per day for 50 years, you could have had an estimated $1,000,000 if you invested it in a major tobacco company.
Tobacco use has been
associated with premature aging and skin wrinkling.
Over 90% of laryngeal cancers are caused by smoking.
Smoking causes 87% of all lung cancer cases.
Maternal smoking while pregnant also causes more miscarriages and creates low-birth weight babies .
Maternal smoking has been implicated in the risk of diabetes, obesity and mental retardation in newborns.
Tobacco smoke contains hundreds of chemicals and at least forty of which have been implicated in cancer.
Evidence indicates that there is a 25% to 30% increase in the risk of coronary heart disease from exposure to secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke contains over 50 known carcinogen (causes cancer) and causes lung cancer and heart disease in non-smoking adults.
Smoke free ordinance in Pueblo Colorado reduced hospitalizations for Heart Attacks between 2002 and 2006 by 27%.
It has been generally shown that a non-smoker living with a smoker has a 50% increased chance of developing heart disease.
Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to have babies who have an increased risk of death from sudden infant death syndrome and respiratory distress.
Secondhand smoke each year causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults.
According to the CDC, if current smoking patterns continue, 6.4 million people currently younger than 18 will die prematurely from a tobacco-related disease.
Researche has shown an association between secondhand smoke and low levels of interleukin-10 in infants, an anti-inflammation protein which helps to protect against asthma and allergies.
Each year cigarette smoking accounts for approximately 1 of every 5 deaths.
Use of smokeless tobacco causes cancers of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus; gum recession; and an increased risk for heart disease and stroke.
Smoking cigars increases the risk of oral, laryngeal, esophageal, and lung cancers.
The younger people begin smoking cigarettes, the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine. Young people who try to quit suffer the same nicotine withdrawal symptoms as adults who try to quit.
Several studies have found nicotine to be addictive in ways similar to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. Of all addictive behaviors, cigarette smoking is the one most likely to become established during adolescence.4
Children and teenagers constitute the majority of all new smokers, and the industry’s advertising and promotion campaigns often have special appeal to these young people.
Smoking is the #1 preventable cause of premature death in the United States.
In the U.S., smoking kills more people than cocaine, heroine, alcohol, fire automobile accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS combined.
90% of adult smokers are addicted to tobacco before they reach the age of 18; 50% before the age of 14; currently the average age of initiation to tobacco is age 11.
Did you know nearly every adult who smokes (almost 90 percent) took his or her first puff at or before the age of 18?
Did You Know? Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is a contributing factor for spontaneous abortions, still-born births, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome.
Did You Know? The tobacco industry spends more than $36 million a day in the U.S. on a marketing barrage that attracts youth to its deadly products.

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Amarillo's Tobacco Cessation Programs

1-877-YES-QUIT

Smokers and users of tobacco who want to quit using tobacco should:

Use medications such as nicotine patch, gum or lozenge with Zyban (Wellbutrin) or use varenicline (Chantix) alone.
Participate in a tobacco cessation program.

Amarillo has several excellent programs that can help tobacco users quit:

The Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Center
1500 Wallace Blvd.
Call 463-QUIT (463-7848)

The facilitator is Sharri Miller, BSN, RN, TTS, and a Tobacco Treatment Specialist trained and certified by the Mayo Clinic.

The program consists of weekly one hour group sessions given for four weeks. Individual counseling is also available. There is a charge which may be covered by insurance. Medicare covers two sessions.

They have a Quit Club that meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. The Quit Club is available for anyone that has stopped tobacco use, even if they did not participate in the Harrington Cancer Center Program.
Northwest Texas Healthcare System
1501 South Coulter
Call 351-LUNG (351-5864)

The facilitator is Chrissy Acker, a trained Tobacco Treatment Specialist certified by the Certification Board, Inc.

This is a one-on-one program that is free for hospitalized patients. The cost for non-hospitalized patients is $150 for four one hour sessions. Medicare pays for the sessions if the patient has a tobacco related disease. Some insurance carriers pay under company wellness benefit programs.
J O Wyatt Community Health Center
1411 Amarillo Blvd. East
Call 351-7212

The Facilitators are Judy Nusz and Reva Roselius. This program is available for J O Wyatt patients. It consists of four one hour group sessions given over a two week period. Nicotine patches, gum or lozenges are given weekly at the J O Wyatt pharmacy. Chantix may be provided but a prescription for it must be written by a physician.

They have a follow up program that meets every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Patients who quit are followed by phone every six months.
Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
6010 Amarillo Blvd. West
Call 355-9703 Ext. 7255
The facilitator is Wardell Reust.

The Program consists of four one hour group sessions. It is free for veterans. Others may participate but they do not get free medications.

Patients are initially required to try two sessions of Zyban (Wellbutrin) plus nicotine patches. If this is not successful they may be given an initial 30 day trial of varenicline (Chantix). If this is successful and they are tolerating it well, they may be given a second and third course of varenicline.
American Cancer Society
3915 Bell St.
Call 353-4307

The ACS sponsors the Quitline Program. This is a telephone program available in English and Spanish.

To access the program dial 1-877-YES-QUIT (1-877-937-7848). Eligible tobacco users are connected with a trained tobacco cessation facilitator who instructs the tobacco user and helps them through the early, more difficult part of their cessation effort. The minimum age for counseling is 13 years.

The counseling sessions may be scheduled 7 days a week and evenings until 11 p.m. on weekdays.

The success rate for this program is comparable to the other programs described here.

COMMIT TO QUIT!!!!!! For individuals who want and need help to quit smoking, the times and dates of the next Fresh Start sessions are:

First Tuesday of each month
	“Understanding Why and How”
First Thursday of each month
	“Managing the First Few Days”
Second Tuesday of each month
	“Mastering Obstacles”
Second Thursday of each month
	“Staying Quit Forever & Enjoying It”

Each Session: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Advance registration for Fresh Start classes is required. Call 354-5875. For volunteer opportunities, contact tobacco cessation coordinator Sharri Miller at 1-806-463-QUIT (7848).

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Amarillo's Tobacco Cessation Programs

1-877-YES-QUIT

Smokers and users of tobacco who want to quit using tobacco should:

Amarillo has several excellent programs that can help tobacco users quit: